MUSE will celebrate artistic inspiration on Friday, February 9, 2018 at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg at 7:00 p.m. The fifth annual benefit for the arts will recognize the breadth and beauty of art and culture in our City of the Arts, and pay tribute to those that continue to inspire and guide St. Petersburg to its standing as an international arts destination. Proceeds will benefit artists, arts education, and arts & cultural organizations through our Arts Alliance programs and services.

MUSE Literary Arts Award honors Sheila Cowley, Playwright
This award recognizes an artist or organization that has achieved excellence in the written word in fiction or non-fiction, playwriting, screen writing, journalism, poetry or prose, print or digital formats.
Sheila Cowley is a playwright and audio producer based in St. Petersburg, who collaborates with actors, dancers and visual artists.
Her play, Flying, about women who flew military planes in WWII in the aftermath of war, was featured in new play festivals this year in Chicago, Austin and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival, and opened American Stage’s 21st Century Voices Festival. Flying was produced in upstate New York this summer, followed by a co-production with Tampa Rep and The Studio@620.
“Trio” will premiere in Austin, after a workshop with actors and dancers sponsored by the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance this summer at The Studio@620. Her intimate drama “Stay” will be onstage in Charleston, SC this coming spring. This past year she created theatrical works inspired by visual art for Keep St Pete Lit, the GASP! Festival and the Florida Holocaust Museum, two of those involving dance with choreographer, Paula Kramer.
Sheila and her husband Matt produced the Accessible Mural Tour for the Arts Alliance, with vivid descriptions voiced by Eugenie Bondurant. Sheila produces Arts In, the Creative Pinellas podcast series of conversations with visual, literary and performing artists.
For ticket and sponsorship tickets please go HERE